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The
Official Newspaper of Anamosa, located in Jones County, Iowa
Anamosa News
Since 1855
 Thursday, March 13, 2008 |
Seniors show the way for Raider wrestling
By
Daryl Schepanski - Sports Editor |
ANAMOSA — Coming off a record 17-12 dual meet campaign in 2006-2007, Anamosa wrestling coach Ron Timp had high hopes for his club this past winter with six letter winners returning keyed by seniors Derek Young and Travis Keltner.
“Those two kids were the glue that held this team together all year long,” said Timp as his team logged a 3-21 dual meet mark during the 2007-2008 season. “We battled through a lot of adversity and had to give up quite a few points in dual meets with forfeits, but the kids who took to the mat fought hard each and every time out there. As a coach, that is all you can ask for. These kids gave me all they had and in my mind, it doesn’t matter what our dual meet record was, we improved as individual wrestlers from the start of the season to the finish and were wrestling our best at the end when it counted the most.”
Young earned a second straight class 2A district wrestling berth this past season and took advantage of the opportunity and advanced to state where the Raider senior wrestled into the second day at the tournament at 140-pounds.
“Derek has a motor that just doesn’t quit and he kept it going all the way to the state tournament,” said Timp as Young topped the rare 100-win plateau and logged a 29-11 record overall winning a title at the prestigious Benton Community tournament during his brilliant run this past winter. “Derek was one of two seniors on the team for us this year and was an example for all the younger guys of what it takes to be successful at this level. You have to work hard and hit the weights and always give it your all. Derek and Travis were two excellent examples of great workhorse wrestlers for our team this year.Hopefully, the rest of the guys will learn from Derek’s and Travis’ examples and take that knowledge into next year and beyond.” |
Raider workhorse
Anamosa senior Travis Keltner scores against Beckman’s Jordan Bildstein during a WaMaC Conference dual this past season. Keltner turned in a sensational senior season rolling to a 26-15 record at 215-pounds while almost reaching the state tournament placing third at districts. (Journal-Eureka photo by Daryl Schepanski)
Reason to smile
Anamosa senior Derek Young had plenty of reasons to smile during the 2007-2008 wrestling season. Young not only qualified for state tournament and led the Raiders recording 29 wins, but for his career became one of the few Anamosa wrestlers ever to top the 100-win plateau. (Journal-Eureka photo by Daryl Schepanski) |
Young, who also claimed the 2A sectional championship, in Dyersville last month, gave Raider wrestling fans a great ride through what was a challenging dual meet campaign, but individually, Anamosa wrestlers tallied an above .500 mark (182-169 overall) proving Anamosa didn’t back down from any challenge all season long.
Young was also chosen as Anamosa’s Most Valuable Wrestler claiming the award at the Raider wrestling banquet Thursday, February 28, and finishes his career as one of the all-time winningest wrestlers in school history.
“Winning 100 matches in a four-year career is quite an accomplishment,” said Timp. “It takes a lot of dedication on and off the mat and Derek made that sacrifice every year he was here.”
Keltner also turned in a sensational senior season finishing second on the team with 26 wins wrestling often undersized at 215-pounds.
“Travis, just like Derek, has a motor that just never stops running, on and off the mat,” said Timp as Keltner tallied a 26-15 record this past winter and advanced through sectionals to districts for the second straight season and just missed a first-ever trip to Wells Fargo Arena and the state tournament in Des Moines. “Travis kind of had a rough morning the day of districts and didn’t come out with his normal game in that first-round match. If he wins that match, I’m convinced he goes to state with Derek. He worked hard enough to get there and did everything we asked of him and more every season. When it comes to maximizing out ones abilities, Travis is the picture of a kid who worked hard and made himself into one the best wrestlers in the area.”
Keltner, who earned the team’s Mr. Hustle award, posted his first-ever tournament triumph at the most opportune time winning the 2A sectional crown.
“It didn’t matter who Travis went up against, he wasn’t going to back down from anybody,” said Timp. “He was going to work as hard as he knew how and whatever happens would happen. Most of the time though, what happened was Travis walking off the mat with another win.”
While Anamosa will sorely miss the services of Young and Keltner, Timp does return a whopping 13 wrestlers with five tallying 10 or more wins this past season.
“We were a very young team this year with no juniors on the team and just two seniors,” said Timp. “And we’ll still be young next year too, but at least we should have quite a few guys who have had a lot of success at the varsity level coming back next year.”
Ryan Dolan (25 wins), Jesse Hansen (21), Mitch Hewitt (20), Dan Bieber (19) and Tyler Forbes (13) return with the bulk of the mat experience.
“We’ve got some very talented sophomores who will be juniors next year who we’re going to look to for leadership with no seniors on the roster next winter,” said Timp of Dolan, Hansen, Hewitt and Bieber who have all been two-year starters for the Raider program. “I have confidence they can step up and accept those additional duties too.”
Jacob McWilliams, Evan Taylor, Justin Walker, Sawyer Frazier, Josh Chadwell, Kenner Ahrendsen, Doune Alderdyce and Sam Hunt also return for the 2008-2009 club.
Frazier, Dolan and Walker claimed the Iron Man award at the team’s annual banquet while Alderdyce was named Outstanding JV wrestler after posting a 15-6 JV mark. Hansen was named Most Improved Wrestler.
“I hope the freshmen realize they made an impact on this team too this year,” said Timp. “We have some good classes in the middle school level coming up as well, and with what we already have here, I think the future of Anamosa High School wrestling could be a very bright one.” |
Anamosa’s Kelly named first-team all-state basketball
By
Daryl Schepanski - Sports Editor |
DES MOINES — Continuing his mind-boggling trek into uncharted territory among all-time Anamosa High School athletes, Raider senior Colten Kelly was named by the Iowa Newspaper Association (INA) a class 3A first-team all-state selection, chosen by a panel of sportwriters from around Iowa who gathered in Des Moines Saturday, March 8.
Kelly’s honor marks the first-time in school history an Anamosa boys basketball player has ever been named to any basketball all-state first-team.
“I’m pleased for Colten,” said Raider boys basketball coach Kevin Barnes. “He is a young man who has represented our program, school and community in a way that should make us all very proud that he is a Blue Raider. Too many times in this profession you see kids (not just from Anamosa), who have all-state talent, but don’t have the attitude or work ethic to go with it. Colten took the talent he was given and made the most of it. I am just really pleased to see him receive this honor.”
With Anamosa making the move to the WaMaC Conference this past season after spending the last four years in the Tri-Rivers, Kelly raised the level of his play to match the intensity of the loaded boys basketball league ranked by many as one of the top basketball conferences in the state of Iowa. |
Two-time all-state star
Cementing his status as one of the best athletes in Anamosa High School history, Raider senior Colten Kelly, here wrapping a pass around West Delaware’s B.J. Hermsen during a big win over the Hawks this past season, was named by the Iowa Newspaper Association (INA) as a class 3A first-team all-state selection recently. Kelly, who was a third-team all-state pick a year ago by the INA, becomes the first Anamosa boys player ever named to an all-state basketball first-team after a campaign that saw him score 20.7 points per game while also leading the team in rebounding, assists and steals. (Journal-Eureka photo by Daryl Schepanski) |
Kelly, a unanimous all-WaMaC selection and who was also recently named the No. 1 player on the power-packed 3A all-district list that included Dubuque Wahlert’s Eric May, Marion’s Amry Shelby and Central DeWitt’s Kramer Steffens, averaged 20.7 points per game this past season.
He also topped the Raiders with his 7.6 rebounds, 3.52 assists and 1.81 steals a contest.
Joining Kelly on the INA class 3A all-state first-team were: backcourt- Eric May, jr. (Dubuque Wahlert), Kirby Pettit, sr. (Carroll) and Brett Putz, sr. (Forest City); frontline- Brennan Cougill, jr. (Sioux City Heelan), Brett VanSloten, jr. (Decorah) and Brice Petersen, sr. (Ballard); utility- Kelly and Kyle Haake, sr. (Harlan).
Earning second-team class 3A all-state honors were: backcourt- Troy Ticknor, sr. (ADM), Amry Shelby, jr. (Marion) and Josh Henry, sr. (Winterset); frontline- Jordan Harrelson, sr. (Cedar Rapids Xavier), Alex Dorr jr. (Norwalk) and Grant Wood, jr. (Creston); utility- Dan Hoch, sr. (Harlan) and Dane Larson, sr. (Waverly-Shell Rock).
Earning third-team class 3A all-state honors were: backcourt- Ryan Brandt, sr. (Algona), Zach McCabe, so. (Sioux City Heelan) and Tyler Putz, so. (Forest City); frontline- Wes Nordquist, jr. (ADM), Ben Lechtenberg, jr. (West Delaware) and Mark Jesse, jr. (Union LaPorte City); utility- Kramer Steffens, sr. (Central DeWitt) and Matt Thornton, sr. (Fairfield).
Kelly, along with Marion’s Shelby, West Delaware’s Lechtenberg, Central DeWitt’s Steffens and Waterloo Columbus’ Tim Kelly, a class 2A third-team selection by the INA, represented the WaMaC Conference as players named to all-state teams.
Iowa City High’s Matt Gatens, a three-time all-state selection by the INA, was named Mr. Basketball after guiding the Little Hawks to a class 4A state title.
The senior scored 22.1 points per game and leaves City High as the school’s all-time leading scorer pouring in 1,928 points.
Gatens will continue his basketball career at the University of Iowa.
Not only did Kelly earn all-state recognition, but the Anamosa senior was also invited to play in the WaMaC vs. South Iowa Cedar League (SICL) Senior Shootout All-Star contest.
The game, to be played in Van Horne at Benton Community High School Saturday, March 15, is set for tip-off at 5:30 p.m. for the girls’ contest and 7:00 p.m. for Kelly and the boys.
Joining Kelly on the Senior Shootout all-star WaMaC roster are: Michael Maiers (Beckman), Tim Kelly, Jared Kuehner (CP-U), Steffens, Drew Campbell (Independence), Ian Lebeau (Marion), Jon Hannah (Marion), B.J. Hermsen (W. Delaware) and Nathan Ramler (Western Dubuque).
The WaMaC girls’ roster includes: Bridget Meade (Beckman), Rachel Klaren (Beckman), Kari Goodchild (Benton Community), Jessica Tate (Waterloo Columbus), Michelle Green (Central DeWitt), Nikki Patterson (Maquoketa), Jacqueline Kane (Marion), Laura Wilberg (Vinton-Shellsburg), Ashley Hood (West Delaware), Molly Link (Western Dubuque) and Molly Steffens (Western Dubuque). |
Bowen closes Midland wrestling career in style
By
Daryl Schepanski - Sports Editor |
WYOMING — The odds were stacked against the Midland wrestling team even before they began the 2007-2008 campaign.
With a mere seven wrestlers out for the sport in Wyoming, Eagle wrestling coach Erik Wagler preached improvement at every practice and every meet and tournament to his squad, on an individual basis, as they made their way through a 2-22 campaign.
While six of the seven Midland wrestlers to take to the mat this year were relatively inexperienced, they did have a shining star in Spencer Bowen. The senior, who had qualified for state as a sophomore and a junior, closed out his brilliant Eagle wrestling career in style, placing at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines for the second straight season.
“Spencer set or tied many of the career and season wrestling records at Midland High School,” said Wagler as Bowen rolled to another amazing winter posting a 30-8 record overall even while missing the first few weeks of the season with a hand injury he sustained during the football season.
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Midland’s all-time best
Eagle Spencer Bowen closed out his senior wrestling season placing seventh at 130-pounds at the class 1A state tournament and became the school’s all-time wins leader tallying an amazing 115 wins during his brilliant four-year career in Wyoming with over half of the triumphs coming via pins. (Photo by Daryl Schepanski) |
“His work ethic and determination will make him a welcome addition to any college wrestling team he chooses to be a part of.”
Bowen, who expressed an interest in joining the Loras College wrestling program next season, led the Eagles in almost every statistical category this past season.
Bowen scored team-best numbers with his 12 pins, 80 takedowns, 21 2-point nearfalls and 39 3-point nearfalls.
“It is going to be hard to replace a senior who has been an anchor at the lower weights since he was a freshman,” said Wagler of Bowen who was a three-time state tournament qualifier and two-time state place-winner finishing seventh in class 1A at 130-pounds this past season and eighth in the state in 2007. “He’s a rare talent and has been a joy to watch and coach over the last four years.”
While Wagler and the Eagle program lose their shining star and top wrestler in school history in Bowen, Midland does return the bulk of the 2007-2008 squad in Katlin Marr, Jake Reilly, Tate Dusanek, Cory Rains, Nick Shirley and Larry Ehlers.
Marr leads all returners tallying 11 wins wrestling at 119-pounds.
“We were very young and inexperienced this year,” said Wagler as the collection of six returners combined for 35 wins this past season. “They showed improvement as the year progressed, but the lumps we took this year will pay off in the future.” |
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Box 108, 208 W. Main Street, Anamosa, IA 52205
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